circus
pronunciation
How to pronounce circus in British English:
UK [ˈsɜːkəs]
How to pronounce circus in American English:
US [ˈsɜːrkəs]
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- Noun:
- a travelling company of entertainers; including trained animals
- performance given by a traveling company of acrobats clowns and trained animals
- a frenetic disorganized (and often comic) disturbance suggestive of a circus or carnival
- (antiquity) an open-air stadium for chariot races and gladiatorial games
- an arena consisting of an oval or circular area enclosed by tiers of seats and usually covered by a tent
Word Origin
- circus
- circus: [16] Latin circus meant literally ‘ring, circle’, but it was applied metaphorically by the Romans to the circular arena in which performances and contests were held. That was the original signification of the word in English, applied in a strictly antiquarian sense to the ancient world, and it was not until the late 18th century that it began to be used for any circular arena and the entertainment staged therein.The Latin word is related to, and may have come from, Greek kírkos; and it is also connected with Latin curvus, source of English curve. It has additionally been linked with Latin corōna ‘circlet’, from which English gets crown. And it is of course, via its accusative form circum, the starting point of a wide range of English words with the prefix circum-, from circumference to circumvent (in this category is circuit [14], which goes back to an original Latin compound verb circumīre, literally ‘go round’).=> circle, circuit, circulate, crown, curve, search
- circus (n.)
- late 14c., in reference to ancient Rome, from Latin circus "ring, circular line," which was applied by Romans to circular arenas for performances and contests and oval courses for racing (especially the Circus Maximus), from or cognate with Greek kirkos "a circle, a ring," from PIE *kirk- from root *(s)ker- (3) "to turn, bend" (see ring (n.)). In reference to modern large arenas for performances from 1791; sense then extended to the performing company, hence "traveling show" (originally traveling circus, 1838). Extended in World War I to squadrons of military aircraft. Meaning "lively uproar, chaotic hubbub" is from 1869. Sense in Picadilly Circus and other place names is from early 18c. sense "buildings arranged in a ring," also "circular road." The adjective form is circensian.
Example
- 1. The circus finally arrived in the town .
- 2. Popularized by circus acrobats , this workout is slowly moving mainstream .
- 3. Divided in three like a circus .
- 4. Many circus performers trip with their families .
- 5. Going to the big apple circus today .